Mon Chou
by BuRNING MeLANCHoLY
Summary: Kurama and Hiei's friendship is troubled by a sudden and mysterious outbreak by Hiei. What has prompted Hiei's sudden agression, and will Kurama be able to find a way to help his friend? Warnings: Rape and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Their fingers hovered over their heads as they rested snugly within their cozy little haven of a bed, the digits laced together in a sweet way as they both stared up at them. The night air swelling in from the window dappled Kurama's crimson tresses across Hiei's face, causing him to wrinkle his nose slightly at the sensation. They had, previously, been engaged in a serious conversation, but it had ended in them resting aside one another, examining the way their own hands looked together in the light above them.

"How long has it been, fox?" Hiei's curt voice suddenly asked through the silence, and Kurama could feel the other's crimson gaze focusing in upon him.

"Really… I can't remember how long… how long it's been since we met. Perhaps four or five years? Why..?" He raised a slender crimson brow, and glanced toward the other's gaze, locking his soft emerald hues in with the sharp crimson irises regarding him.

"I dunno, I just wondered." He muttered, looking away and slowly pulling his fingers from the laced position above them.

Kurama turned his gaze upward to his own hand, which remained fixed in the air where it had been previously. Slowly, he allowed it to fall and rest upon his chest, and rolled to look at his brooding friend. The fire demon had turned himself away on to his side, glaring off toward the other wall in a thoughtful and perhaps even melancholy manner.

Gently, Kurama allowed himself to move on to his own side, propping himself up on one elbow and staring off toward the corner of the room. He knew that Hiei got uncomfortable when he stared at him like that for a long time. For some reason, Kurama's gaze bothered Hiei exponentially lately. Once or twice, he got slapped for watching him too intently, as if the gaze was acidic-- which it most certainly was not. The redhead knew he only gazed at Hiei with kindness and seriousness… and perhaps every once in a while in concern.

Recently, Hiei's moods seemed to be going down hill in a very steady manner. Kurama knew Hiei well enough to know that the other was not exactly a chipper person, but it was never difficult to keep Hiei in at least a decent mood. His eyes were brighter then, he smiled and even laughed a little, and was very playful. He and Kurama usually had a good time when Hiei came over to stay (which was frequent), but Kurama could only watch in wonder as Hiei's brooding attitude began to return to him, and the distance between them grew more and more intense with each passing day.

He was suddenly jolted by a sharp pain to the cheek, causing him to gasp and draw back slightly, eyed widening at the malevolent and dangerous gaze focused squarely upon himself.

"Stop STARING AT ME LIKE THAT!" Hiei snarled in an uncharacteristic loss of his cool, as he suddenly slapped the redhead harshly across the face once more, sharp nails biting in to the flesh and causing small crimson ringlets to dribble from the neat cuts across Kurama's pale cheek. Kurama's eyes slowly moved, and then refocused upon Hiei's face, half shut and almost tired looking.

All too suddenly, the smaller male's gaze trailed from Kurama's eyes to the blood thickly dripping down his cheek, and the anger within his gaze disappeared completely, and he sat himself up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting to his feet. Before he had turned away, Kurama knew he had seen the traces of guilt that Hiei had been trying to hide from his face.

"Hiei…" Kurama murmured very softly, watching as the other moved to pick his katana up from the other side of the room, slipping his boots on slowly. He glanced back at the redhead, prompting him to speak further.

Kurama, however, did not… Something was wrong about the other's gaze. The way Hiei stared at him was much more different than usual. The other's crimson eyes were narrowed in to slits, his upper lip raised in to what Kurama could only assume was a snarl. The eye hidden away beneath his headband was visible for the dim green glow shining through the white. The stare caused Kurama to sit with his lips parted, air drawn in to speak, but finding no words coming to his mouth.

He watched as the other lowered his crimson gaze to the floor, mouthed something indiscernible beneath his breath, and raised his hateful gaze once more. There was conviction within the other's eyes… He had decided upon something-- he had decided upon something that he had obviously been thinking through for a very long time. Kurama closed his lips, and sat up further, frown creasing his brows before he suddenly snapped his entire body to the left and onto his bed, one arm over his head as he cried out in surprise.

The weight on the bed shifted as Hiei landed where Kurama had been moments before, katana sunk deeply within the wall that Kurama's head had just been resting against. Kurama moved his arm, sitting up slightly and staring with wide eyes at the smaller male, who rested kneeled there, staring at the deep incision made within the wood and plaster of Kurama's wall.

"… H-Hiei…?" He asked softly.

The other made no notice of his words, if he heard them. Kurama closed his mouth at that point, watching the other carefully, prepared to spring should the other make another move toward him. Kurama's gaze was contemplative, and as the shock wore off, so was his mind. He hardly had time to figure out why Hiei would do something like that to him, when he had to duck and roll off of the bed to the floor.

Ribbons of his sheets fell after him, as the position in which Kurama had been resting was torn to slivers by several precise slashes of the sword. Kurama gasped softly, before rolling once more to avoid a stab aimed at his forehead. This roll, however, put Kurama directly on his feet, and he took several careful and measured steps back away from Hiei, who stared at him in a queer manner.

"Hiei. If you're going to kill me, at least tell me what I've done to deserve it. As far as my memory serves me, I can't remember doing anything to deserve this." He murmured softly, brows knitted and eyes carefully watching the other.

"Why?" Hiei asked softly, almost to himself, before raising his voice a bit more, "Why can't you look at me the way I want you to look at me!?" He demanded with a deep snarl, lifting his katana before himself, casting the redhead's bedroom light dangerously off the blade.

Before Kurama had a chance to answer or contemplate his question, the youkai was upon him once more, slicing the blade so quickly that Kurama would have hardly been able to discern the movements if it were not for the hissing sound the steel cutting through air made. He moved left, right, left, ducked, and then used the backs of his feet upon the wall he was coming against to flip himself over the small youkai and toward a safe landing on his feet on the other side of the room.

His landing was unsuccessful, however, and he could only gasp as he felt the other's blade sink deeply within his stomach and into the wall directly behind him. The pain blistered through his abdomen, racing through his nerves and veins as he felt hot liquid bubbling up his esophagus, being coughed out roughly in deep crimson spatters.

Hiei only stared at the redhead, who was permanently pinned on his feet by the sword through him. His hand had left the blade, and he only watched now with an odd mix of emotions as the redhead coughed, but still… Still, made no move to harm him. No move to hurt him… No move to defend himself.

The red slits focused upon him slowly softened, and he took a slow step back and away from Kurama, shaking his head only very slightly to himself.

"I- I can't help you." He spoke softly, widening his eyes, before narrowing them once more with a flash of the Jagan, "And I won't help you, you disgusting fox! Stay there and rot-- or better yet, let your mother come in and find you pinned there and bled to death!" He snapped harshly, before turning and disappearing with the familiar shiff sound that accompanied his goings and comings.

Kurama merely watched, feeling the blood pouring from his lips and down his chin. He glanced down at the blade pinning him to the wall, and slowly grabbed the hilt. He distracted himself from the discomfort of removing the sword from his abdomen though thoughts. He was, as it was, the forever calm Kurama.

Something about the scenario was not as it was supposed to appear. Hiei's words made sense, in context, simply because Kurama knew and had known since the moment Hiei had decided-- the other was in love with him, or something very similar to it. The change in the other's demeanor was enough to give him away, and the suddenly forward behavior with which Hiei acted with. All of the touching and talking-- opening up, that he never would have done unless he had finally decided he could trust Kurama with every inkling of his being.

This outburst had been building up for at least a month now, while Kurama watched, fascinated and worried about the changes. Hiei's stare had been all wrong in these instances, and in the instance with which Kurama was now faced.

Kurama was suddenly distracted by the sound of running water, and looked down at the blade he was cleaning in the bathroom sink with one of his washcloths. He frowned and shook his head, looking at his own troubled eyes in the mirror.

The other did not have the intent to kill him. If he had wished to kill him, then he certainly would not have made the final blow somewhere so easily dealt with. He had been stabbed there before by Hiei, after all, and certainly the other would not be quick to forget that fact. That and the range of sympathy that tore across Hiei's face right before he left--

None of this was right.

He lowered the blade to the floor in his room, cloth now pressed over his bleeding stomach as he looked toward the window.

"He'll… want this back when he returns." He murmured softly, staring out the dark window with gentle and worried eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Kurama rested with his back against a bench warmed thoroughly by the sun, eyes closed and directed up toward the sky as the petals of his own plants softly brushed against his calves and the hand he had rested upon the arm rest to his right. His garden usually calmed him down, but today it did nothing but provide itself as a catalyst to his thoughts.

He opened his eyes slowly, and looked off toward the Sakura tree beside his bedroom. For a long time, he merely remained there, watching the leaves rustle in the slight breeze, dappling the splotches of sunlight reaching the ground in its shade.

Hiei had not returned for two weeks.

Usually, when Hiei took leave like this, it was for much different reasons, thus Kurama never worried about him being gone. Now, in this instance, he was worried to death about his friend. The smaller demon could take care of himself, Kurama was not in doubt of that-- but if there was something seriously wrong with him, as Kurama expected there was, then there was no telling what could be going on with Hiei.

He wished the other would just come… home.

Yes, Kurama considered Hiei a member of his home, and he knew that Hiei was well aware that whenever he wanted to just pop in and stay for a month, he was perfectly allowed to. Everyone in the household was fine with Hiei-- his mother thought he was adorable. (Something that never failed to irk Hiei.)

That being as it was, the household seemed to feel a little bit empty without Hiei around. Sure, Hiei never exactly interacted with any of them, but still… His presence was missed.

Kurama took his eyes away from the tree aside his window, and slowly got to his feet, dusting his pants off out of habit and then sighing very softly. He could not shake the feeling that there was something horribly wrong… and the feeling that Hiei was not going to come back any time soon.

The redhead had found his way inside and off to the phone in the hallway. He hesitated for a moment, before picking up the receiver and dialing a number slowly, picking the numbers from his memory as best he could. He was fairly certain that this was the correct number.

_Ring. Ring. Ring. -_click-

"Hello?" asked a familiar voice from the other end. Kurama smiled, mildly surprised that the other was actually home to answer.

"Hello, Yuusuke. This is Kurama. Can I speak with you for a moment about something..?" He asked, leaning against the wall slightly and half shutting his eyes.

"Uhh, yeah. I'm not doing anything. What's up?" Kurama could hear the other flopping down on the other side, and nodded slightly.

"Have you seen Hiei recently? I-- He hasn't been around much in the past couple of weeks, and I just wondered if you had seen him… At all." Kurama spoke softly, looking up at the ceiling and half closing his eyes.

He had a feeling that he knew roughly what Yuusuke was going to reply with.

"No? Why?" Yuusuke asked with a sudden interest, and Kurama could sense the slight worry within his friend's voice, "Has he not been around? I thought he always stuck near ya? What happened?"

Kurama frowned slightly, shaking his head slightly at the other's perceptiveness.

The redhead began speaking slowly, and then delved in to the crux of the story, including the oddness of Hiei's looks and movements, and the random things he had spoken to himself during the actions.

"G-gah, he stabbed you!? What the hell?" Yuusuke fell silent after Kurama merely muttered a "Mmmhmm." To the exclamation made by the other, "Well… I mean… Why would he do that? Hiei's kind of a bastard sometimes, I know, but I thought he was really close to you?"

"He wouldn't hurt me without warning like that. That's why I think there's something to this deeper than what I'm seeing. He'd been getting a bit reclusive lately, and I had worried, but I never expected something to this degree." Kurama explained softly.

"Well, hell… You want us to get a group together and scout for him? He's gotta be around here somewhere, right?" Yuusuke offered, to which Kurama pondered for a few moments.

"If it isn't too much of a-" Kurama jumped suddenly, surprised at his own surprise, and looked up toward the ceiling. A loud thumping sound of something heavy hitting the floor came rumbling from the floor above him.

"What the hell was that?" Yuusuke asked in wonder.

"I'm not sure. I'll call you back, Yuusuke. Let me go and see." He hung up hastily, before Yuusuke had gotten a chance to answer. He knew it was rude, but Yuusuke would understand Kurama's urgency, he was sure.

He silently trekked the way to his bedroom upstairs, and sniffed at the air. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and opened the door very slowly. He had smelled Hiei before he opened the door, but there was something off about even his smell at this moment, which made Kurama proceed with caution.

Before Kurama entered the room, he had not been able to feel the other's aura in the slightest. However, as soon as the door in to his room was opened, he could feel the pulsing and throbbing of his dark aura, pounding his senses heavily.

Hiei stood on Kurama's bed, looking down at the kitsune with narrowed and wickedly glowing green eyes. His cloak was hard and coated with some dried substance, which Kurama could only assume was--

"Have you attacked someone?" Kurama demanded slowly, looking up at the wickedly grinning demon with slightly wide eyes. The scent hit his nose as soon as Kurama uttered the words. Wafting from Hiei was the thick and cold scent of death. Not only had Hiei attacked someone--

He had killed.

This was not Hiei, of this, Kurama was certain. The kitsune took a measured step back, shaking his head in mild disbelief and wonder. A glint from beneath the other's black bangs caught his attention, and he focused in upon the glowing and dangerous purple eye regarding him through the other's tresses.

As soon as Kurama locked gazes with the strange eye, it widened, and as did Hiei's smile. The smaller demon's fangs were visible from the open and wide grin, acidic glowing eyes narrowing slightly further.

A spark of realization burned in to Kurama's mind, and he withheld a gasp, but only just. His emerald eyes snapped to Hiei's face once more, and then to the eye, and then widened.

"Y-you…" He murmured, staring at the Jagan as it raised it's lower lid halfway, almost in mirth at the situation. Almost as immediately as the eye had made that motion, Hiei's body had begun a low and sinister bought of laughter toward the other male. As Kurama took another measured step, only forward, the laughter escalated, Hiei's eyes shut and pale face pointed up at the ceiling.

Kurama's body tensed as the other's gaze suddenly snapped to him, a look of utter seriousness upon the smaller demon's face.

"So…" He spoke softly. The voice was the same, but there was a darker note-- a different inflection of tones that rolled from Hiei's voice. It was almost sinister. The smaller demon paused as he watched Kurama's face carefully, grin spreading once more as Kurama took every thing in with calm eyes.

"So," he began again, snapping Kurama's attention firmly back to his face, "You _are _a smart one, aren't you? You figured it out really… _really quick. _Maybe TOO quick for your own good, huh, fox?" He muttered softly, chuckling darkly and stepping off of Kurama's mattress to stare at him.

"How?" Kurama asked softly, lifting a hand reflexively into his hair, prepared to draw his weapon should the need arise--which Kurama suspected would happen very, very shortly. "How could you take control of Hiei's body? He mastered control over you long ago!" He demanded, shaking his head slightly.

The smaller demon fell into yet another roll of laughter, before suddenly vanishing right before the redhead's eyes. As quick as a flash, Kurama drew from his hair the crimson rose with which he typically defended himself.

Before he even had a chance to summon his youki to transform the flower, it was crushed ruthlessly from behind him by a pale hand, the glimmering katana of his smaller friend being pressed tightly to his throat. Kurama froze in his place, one eye shut as he felt the crimson sliver of blood being drawn from the sharp blade against his pale flesh.

"So, fox… What shall be your fate, hm?" Asked the other male, voice hissed in a cool manner across Kurama's sensitive ear.

"Before I decide that… May I at least ask you why you've suddenly decided to kill me?" Kurama murmured softly, before wincing and shutting his eyes as the blade against his throat was pressed a bit more firmly. Laughter cooled the edges of Kurama's ear once more, before the Jagan controlled Hiei spoke.

"You, fox, are being punished for causing me an exponential amount of grief and annoyance," he began with a smirk, cutting Kurama's soft voice off by continuing, "by causing the little whelp to fall in love with you. Do you know what an inconvenience it's been, keeping his strength up, keeping him fighting, getting stronger, with _you _around to make him a lovesick and drooling house pet?"

Kurama said nothing, as the air from his windpipe was cut off suddenly by the dull back of Hiei's blade, pressed neatly against his pale and bleeding flesh. The Jagan controlled Hiei smiled slightly, pleased by Kurama's lack of retaliation.

The redhead knew that this was exactly the Jagan's plan… He knew that Kurama would not hurt Hiei if he did not have to, and that played very excellently to the other's plans. Also, Kurama was well aware that the Jagan's eye was omnipresent and saw all. If Kurama made even a slight move to retaliate, the Jagan would know and stop him in an instant.

"So…" Murmured Hiei's cool and dark voice in to the redhead's ear, "Do you know what I'm going to do to you..?"

Kurama narrowed his emerald orbs, but said nothing in return. Slowly, the pressure from the dull side of the blade began to subside, and Kurama found that he could breathe once more. He allowed the cool air to rush in to his lungs, and spoke softly.

"No," he muttered, "I have no idea what you plan. I am not the creature that can read minds in this situation."

The cool ring of the Jagan's laughter once more struck Kurama's sensitive ear, "Well… I had wondered that myself during the time that I was weakening Hiei's defenses… But I think I've come up with something.

"I can't hurt you. What good would that do me, hm? You take pain far too well. Watching you fight with that crow showed me that much. It's also very difficult to emotionally crack you," he paused, grabbing Kurama's chin and turning the boy's head back awkwardly to look him in the eyes, "you're like a wall of steel, emotionally… though… I know you keep inside far more than you show…"

"If you find yourself at the point any tim-" He choked softly as the other pressed, once more, the blade to his esophagus.

"Silence yourself, fox… I was about to tell you when you so rudely interrupted me…" He smiled slightly, before pressing his lips harshly in to the other's ear, "I'm going to rape you until you can't move anymore." He hissed venomously, and without warning, he grabbed the redhead by the hair and slammed his face harshly in to the floor, a knee pressed deeply between his shoulder blades to keep him from being able to move properly.

Kurama's wide emerald eyes saw nothing but carpet as he began to instantly squirm, having absolutely no intention of letting the Jagan get away with the idea he had just brought forth.

Using his hands, he tried to push himself up and away from the weight pinning him down… He found himself unable to do so, however, by a sudden energy being bound tightly around his wrists. Hot energy burned at his skin, and as he glanced weakly back, he could see the familiar burning of the Jagan Tie Curse, hot upon his flesh.

"Hahaha, do you really think I'm stupid enough to let you get away with anything while I'm getting what I want from you? Your Reiki and Youki are completely useless here, as well… I know exactly what tricks you could possibly have up your sleeve… And oh, by the way, I want you to try and remember that plants are flammable." He hissed softly, smirking with one side of his mouth as the vines that had sprouted from Kurama's crimson tresses were very soundly taken care of by the heat emitted from the other's body.

"Why!?" Kurama demanded against the carpet, as he could feel the other working his shirt away from his body with the blade of his Katana. It was the only word he was allowed to utter, however, before his face was pressed tightly in to the carpet by a strong hand.

"Silly little fox…" Murmured the shorter male as he worked to remove Kurama's pants and boxers from his struggling body. Almost immediately after, Kurama felt himself pushed to the ground by the other's body, hot lips touching his neck and shoulders with little chuckles, "You have no idea how this is going to affect you… You're a virgin. And so… I'd like to remind you… Is Hiei. Can you imagine yourself being defiled in this way..? Can you imagine how HIEI will react… when he wakes up and finds himself a committer of rape upon someone so important to him? Oh… Ahaha-- I've had enough talking, fox…"

Before Kurama even had a chance to try and move away, he felt the other force himself in to his body. He gave the fox no gift of lubrication, stretching, or any sort of preparation. The redhead could feel nothing but the intense pain of his insides, and thusly, his struggling increased ten-fold. The feeling was as if someone were splitting him apart from the inside out, and he was not sure if he could handle it. His mind was taken from it's calm and stoic regularity, and thrown in to a frenzy of sensations. Panic, pain, desperation, and… arousal… racked his lithe body as the Jagan began it's assault.

The Jagan used his hands on Kurama's shoulder blades to press him harshly in to the carpet as he began to pound himself ruthlessly in to the other's body. Kurama could barely keep track of what was happening. His vision swirled, and his throat ached… A loud sound from somewhere was tearing in to his ears, but he could not realize that it was his own screams ripping from his throat. Laughter rang somewhere above himself, and he suddenly was aware of an intense pain upon the back of his head.

With one free hand, the Jagan was using fingers clenched tightly in to the other's crimson locks to lift his head from the ground. The floor moving away from him was unfocused and swirled within his vision as a pair of sharp teeth were torn in to his bare shoulder, the pain of the other's body slamming inside of himself intensifying all the more, becoming much more rapid and hard as he came close to finishing himself within the redhead.

Kurama's mind was a haze as the ningen portions continued to sway and swagger with panic and despair. His own mind was trying desperately to keep him from knowing what was going on. To Kurama, the scenes transpiring were nothing more than some faraway vision as trauma crashed through his thoughts. Somewhere, a sensation brought him slightly too, and he could feel something he had never felt before.

The Jagan had taken his free hand and wrapped it tightly around Kurama's hot length from beneath him. The grunts coursing from the other's lips became tinged with laughter as a whisper escaped his parted lips, "I want to see you squirm with pleasure, fox, pleasure that you cannot control…" He muttered, before beginning to work at him harshly with hot fingers while continuing his rocking and slamming in to the boy's hot and bleeding body.

Kurama shook his head, moans breaking through the screams unwillingly as the Jagan worked at him, teasing his entire area with gropes, squeezes, and eventually began to pump as him with the palm of his hand. His mind once more tried to force itself in to a haze. The pain, however, was much more easy to ignore than the pleasurable sensations being forced upon his body, so it was much more difficult now to ignore his own body temperature rising, his back arching without it's own will, and the feeling of the Jagan controlled Hiei's body exploding hotly within him, expelling all of his hot liquids as, at the same time, the feeling of his own body's fluids being dispelled messily within Hiei's hand as his own pleasure, and torment, came to a crescendo.

"Ah-Ahaha…" He could feel the other's breath once more in his ear, "What's the matter, Kurama..? You seem so… Distant… Are you losing yourself..? You're crying, you know… It's very… very becoming…" A hot and breathy tongue could faintly be felt licking the hot and salty tears that Kurama had no idea he was shedding.

Indeed, he could hardly focus on anything. He felt his body once more be allowed to drop to the floor, and with what little strength he had left after the mental and physical onslaught was used in curling up loosely, emerald eyes wildly focused off as his rational and demonic mind tried to fight with the ningen panic tearing him apart. His whole body ached and hurt, and he knew that Hiei had ripped him to pieces on the inside, and that he must be bleeding terribly. He could not, however, force himself to focus on the situation, or anything at all. He could not win the fight with his emotional mind, and thus had to retreat back as the panic and desolation set in, and his face became oddly remote.

As he was lost within himself, he had no time to notice the Jagan controlled Hiei rising to his feet and wiping himself off with his scarf, smirking down at the redhead darkly as he got himself dressed once more. "My body… still burns and tinges after you… I wonder is now is a good time…" He muttered, the words hardly registering to Kurama's ears before he felt something that made his demonic mind once more snap through the haze.

Hiei's aura suddenly became, once more, the fiery pureness it had been before the eye upon his forehead had taken control of his body.

The redhead gave his own mind no choice as he forced his gaze upward toward the other demon, who stood with his crimson eyes wide and horrified as he gazed down at his naked friend, his lower body covered with blood and semen, upper bitten and covered with hickeys that reddened and inflamed Kurama's flesh. The tears that never stopped rolling down Kurama's cheeks intensified slightly, and Kurama tried to desperately get himself to speak.

No words, however, came to his mouth. He could only feel a dull numbness sweeping his mind as he watched Hiei mouth something to himself, backing away from his friend with a look of mortified horror across his pale face.

Kurama could only desperately plead no within his mind. He did not want Hiei to leave! He… He wanted Hiei to take care of him, to help fix him, to support him! Surely, Hiei's influence would help him recover. Emotionally, he needed Hiei at this moment more than he had ever needed him in his entire life. Every fiber of his body and mind yearned for Hiei to stay.

As abruptly as Kurama's mind had torn those thought through itself, Hiei was turning away, and vanishing in a rush to flee from Kurama… To flee from what he saw before him… To flee from the torture that Kurama saw briefly within his eyes as he retreated away.

"N-NO! HIEI! DON'T LEAVE!"

He did not feel the hoarse and harsh scream sob from his throat as his body fell peacefully to the floor, eyes shut as sobs he did not feel and screams he did not know he screamed tore through his pale lips.

Eventually, even those stopped, as well…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The voices hovering above him were familiar, yet far away at the same time. He shifted slightly, either in dreams, or in his physical body-- he was not sure which quite yet. The voices around him, invading his senses, seemed to change in pitch with his movement, and it disturbed him… As well as annoying him. He was so enjoying the peaceful sleep he was now involved within. He did not want to be awoken, because he had the feeling that if he were awoken, nothing good would come from the feelings that came with being awake.

At that moment, he was well disposed to just sit and wallow in the excellent nothingness with which his unconscious state provided him. The silence enveloped his ears once more, and he felt content to continue to float in the dark ocean which was his mind…

Until those damn voices began once again. He felt his body shift once more with displeasure, and then he was bothered by the feeling of his face being slightly moved. He immediately began to try and escape the feelings of being aroused from his sleep, until he heard something which shattered through the nothingness, and ripped a neat hole directly in to his heart.

"Kurama, wake up… Please! Hiei… Hiei needs you! We all need you… Come on… please?" The voice urged him earnestly, trying desperately awaken him.

Hiei.

Hiei.

_Hiei._

Hiei!?

Abruptly, a sharp pain tore through his mind, and he felt something bite and burn at his own throat as movement racked his body. He felt himself being thrown this way and that, his throat feeling as if it would bleed were it worked any harder by the panic racing through him. He felt hands on his arms, movements continuing, as if someone were trying to destroy him.

He could not realize that his throat was being ached, once more, by his own terrible screaming. The harsh movements assaulting his body were nothing more than himself, suddenly thrown in to flailing and struggling, thrashing and attacking out at the pain coursing through his mind. The hands upon his arms were not causing his movements-- they were merely trying to restrain him, to keep him from getting seriously hurt.

As it was, he could not understand these things. His ningen mind fought harshly against his youkai mind. His ningen mind was nothing short of traumatized. As abruptly as Hiei's name had been mentioned, the memories came rushing back to him, assaulting him and tearing him to pieces, the pain too intense for him to handle. At the same time, his youkai mind was busy trying to reason with him, and being angry and concerned for his fellow youkai. He did not want this torment, and thought it nothing short of weak. The two sides were split, trying to push one another away in to nothingness, so that the other could take control.

That, however, was impossible.

Kurama could not exist without both his ningen mind and his youkai mind. They were, as it was, one in the same. He reasoned, thought, made decisions-- all with his youkai mind. His ningen mind was there as a default, and controlled his feelings and emotions, his senses, his body, and the very core of his being. While the fighting was futile, it also did nothing but torment the poor boy, who wanted to do nothing but sleep.

As quickly as the rush of pain and emotion had come, they had subsided within themselves. Kurama found himself, once more, lost in the tranquility of an ignorant slumber, unaware of what went on around him, or why it was going on.

In what seemed like an instant, he was greeted with the feeling of his eyes being connected with the cool air of his bedroom for the first time since his slumber. Slowly, the emerald orbs turned to the side, and then back once again, before focusing upon the ceiling above himself. It was painted a cherry pink color by the light flowing in from his window, which told him immediately that it was sundown. His eyes once more roved about in confusion, before focusing slowly upon a figure in the room with him. He stared for a moment, unknowing, before realization struck him.

"Yuusuke..?" he asked softly, moving to sit up, but flinching at the strange stiffness within his body.

The boy slumbering within his computer chair made no motion to awaken himself, and merely remained in his exhausted sleep, head lolled on to his own shoulder with his face cast down toward his knees. Kurama watched in wonder for a moment, before glancing around his room.

There were medical supplies rested upon his nightstand, and an empty bowl and cup of what seemed to have been milk by the residue remaining upon the glass. He frowned slightly, before glancing over at his bookshelf, furrowing his brows in wonder.

All of the books were replaced irregularly. He could not possibly imagine why… He always kept his books organized, and… Even the bookshelf itself seemed to be too far to the right for his liking. He shook his head in wonder, and slowly swung his feet over the edge of his bed.

As soon as he tried to get to his feet, his body gave out on him, and he fell straight to the floor with a yelp. The boy sleeping in the chair near him jumped at the sound, and stared around with wide eyes.

"W-What the hell!? Botan!?" He yelped, before widening his eyes at the redhead slowly sitting up on the floor before him.

"K-Kurama? Kurama! Oh my god, holy shit, you're awake!" He exclaimed, immediately getting up to grab the other softly by the arm, and lift him steadily up, sitting him back upon the bed.

Kurama rubbed his head softly, looking at Yuusuke and blinking a small bit, "Yuusuke… What are you doing in my bedroom..? As a matter of fact… What… What's going on?"

"Uhh… Well…" Yuusuke began, frowning softly, before Kurama locked gazes with him, frowning a small bit himself. The raven haired male stuttered softly, not knowing what to say.

"Shit… Uhh… Kurama… You've been out for almost two weeks now." Yuusuke muttered softly, patting Kurama's knee and taking a seat down next to him.

"I don't understand," Kurama said frankly, blinking his emerald hues and looking over at the boy now seated next to him.

Yuusuke merely remained gazing at the other, brows furrowed above his worried chocolate eyes. He was, obviously, at a loss for words. Kurama could not understand what could be keeping him so confused, or so set on holding his tongue.

Eventually, their silence was interrupted by someone else entering the room.

"Gahh… Yuusuke, we couldn't find Hiei ANYWHERE…" said the orange haired male who entered the room, shaking his head and tiredly looking back at the blue haired female who was following him.

"No, not a single trace of him was in the city or the forests at all… Koenma even tried to help…" She murmured softly, before stopping and assuming the same confused and surprised face as Kuwabara had upon entering he room.

Kurama stared at them from his seated position, eyes wide as if an arrow had just penetrated his heart.

Hiei.

_…Hiei…_

The pain that threatened to tear him in to nothing was waiting on the brinks of his mind, but as he was conscious at that moment, he was more able to try and sort through the confusion his mind placed upon him. He became oblivious to the outside world as the others began to try and speak with him.

Kuwabara's, "Kurama, you're up!" and Botan's, "My goodness… When did this happen!?" were lost to him as he struggled to comprehend the situation building up within himself.

Hiei.

That name caused his stomach to tense, and his head to ache slowly. A dull pain also throbbed within his chest as the name wove itself in to his very consciousness, and he began to remember all of the events leading up to his awakening.

The bookshelf with the misarranged books was explained momentarily within his mind as the image of the toppled bookshelf was remembered, it being the loud sound Kurama had heard on the phone with Yuusuke so long ago.

And then the scenes that followed seeped through his being.

Hiei's body being controlled by the eye within his mind, containing a mind of its own. The threats, and the harm… The rape.

The rape…

Before Kurama could even understand what was going on, three pairs of hands were pressing down upon him, trying to control the struggling that he was suddenly going through. He thrashed and tore at all of them, screaming as loud as he could through his hoarse throat, though, there was something different about this fit.

He knew what was going on. The pain of his throat was explained, as was the wetness of his cheeks and the irrational movements his body seemed to have been making on his own. It was the direct result of his own two minds coming in to battle with themselves, and he simply could not let it continue.

He was calmed down much more easily than they had ever been able to, and Kurama lay there, panting, as they removed their hands and exchanged worried glances with one another.

The redhead shut his eyes, catching his breath and controlling the war going on with his mind and his heart.

Yuusuke was the one who dared break the earnest silence first.

"Hey… You okay?" He asked tentatively, resting a hand upon Kurama's shoulder as the redhead nodded slowly.

"I've been doing that a lot, haven't I..?" Kurama asked slowly, glancing over toward Yuusuke, and then to Botan, who nodded first.

"Yes, Kurama… We haven't been able to rouse you aside from the fits you've been throwing for a long time now." The woman murmured slowly, sitting down on the bed on the other side of Kurama as Kuwabara took a seat in the computer chair Yuusuke had been sleeping in moments before.

Kurama nodded and fell silent, letting himself soak in the moment, before a thought suddenly jumped in to his mind.

"Yuusuke, Botan, Kuwabara… What… Has my mother been doing this entire time..?" He asked slowly, glancing toward his bedroom door and seeing without needing to see, the door to his mother's bedroom.

Kuwabara was the one to speak first in that instance.

"Koenma made it so that she couldn't be around. He arranged some meeting or something for your mom to go to out of town. Shuiichi's off spending the night with his friend, and doesn't know anything," he explained with a tired nod of his head, before shutting his eyes softly, though he was obviously still listening.

Kurama nodded slowly, shutting his eyes once more and sighing softly, before glancing over to Botan with inclined brows, "Botan…" he murmured softly, "when I saw Hiei, before what happened… He smelled of death. Is he in much trouble..?"

Botan inclined her brows as well, before shaking her head.

"No, Koenma knows that it wasn't Hiei who was behind those attacks. We figured it out not long after we found you here." She explained softly.

"Yeah, I came after you hung up on me like that and didn't call back. I was worried and got a real sick feeling about it," Yuusuke piqued.

Kuwabara spoke next, keeping his eyes shut as he addressed Kurama, "We've been looking for Hiei ever since. Every time we find him, he just goes off somewhere else. He's not bein' controlled by that eye anymore, but I still sense this weird aura fluctuating off him… And not just because he's upset." He opened his eyes and looked at the wondering Kurama, who glanced at Botan for confirmation of the story, and perhaps some elaboration.

The azure haired woman locked gazes with Kurama for a moment, before speaking once more, "The energy is like that of the Jagan, but… Dissimilar, all the same. We can't figure out what it is that's affecting him, but the Jagan hasn't taken hold of him since the incident. All I can get from him now is that strange aura pounding off of him… Not just his emotional stress, but--"

"Something bigger." Yuusuke spoke softly, glancing at Kurama, who had sat up again at this point, and was watching the corner of the room with frustrated eyes. He could not imagine what could be causing a strange fluctuation of energy from Hiei, but… He knew that whatever it was, it could not be good. Especially if it were bigger than the Jagan… But…

"I want to go and search for him with you." The redhead suddenly stated, getting slowly to his feet and moving toward his closet with steady steps, being mindful not to fall once more.

"Heyyy…" Kuwabara muttered, getting to his feet and looking to Botan, who had risen as well to touch Kurama's shoulders.

"Kurama, you _just _came back to us… What are you thinking? You've been on nothing but soup for two weeks now. You haven't had a substantial meal, you--" her voice was cut off by the strong look the emerald eyes that gazed at her over the redhead's shoulders gave her.

They burned with intensity, and a strength of will that Botan could not argue with, and she slowly backed away from Kurama, taking her hands from his shoulders, and shaking her head at Yuusuke, who had risen his brows as her actions.

Kurama turned back to the closet, opening the doors and digging around within the contents to find some clothes to change in to after being asleep for so long. Emotionally, his sanity depended upon finding Hiei. He had to make everything okay, and he had to settle his mind somehow. Hiei was the comfort that he needed to accomplish that… Hiei was the strength of will which could power him. His mind-- his heart… His heart wanted safe recluse within his missing friend.

He needed Hiei…

--more terribly than he had ever needed anyone in his entire existence.

The clothes he pulled out were simple ningen attire, but easy to move in. He moved off toward the bathroom in his bedroom, and the others made no move to stop him as he went in and shut the door. Their voices slowly began once he was within, and he could not ignore them.

"I hope he's okay… Did you notice the odd remoteness of his eyes..?" Botan asked softly.

"Yeah, I saw all right. I hope he doesn't do an'thing too drastic…" Kuwabara murmured, as Yuusuke softly spoke as well after a long sigh.

"Well, whatever happens, we have to keep our eyes on him. After all that craziness while he was unconscious, we have to be careful he doesn't lose it again.." He said slowly and softly, before the other two fell in to silence. Kuwabara, a silence of exhaustion, and Botan, a silence of thought. Kurama glanced at himself in the mirror, and was surprised by his own gaze.

The seriousness of his eyes was stunning, and he found himself widening them in slight shock. He was so concentrated, more so than he had realized, upon keeping himself in one piece, that he had adopted a perpetually remote stare. He took his eyes away from himself as he climbed in to the shower, turning on the water and allowing the hot steam to loosen his tense muscles, eyes shutting as he let himself fall in to contemplation about the situation.

Hiei was off, somewhere, alone… He could not be in a good state at all-- not with all of the guilt and torment that had to be assaulting him. He was sure to be growing weaker, and Kurama could hardly stand the thought of it. He opened his eyes and sighed, washing his hair as he stared down at the lather gathering around his feet.

"Strange energy…" He murmured, miming the words that Kuwabara had spoken, and trying to sort through them. If it was not the Jagan that was causing the strange energy, then what could it be? He found himself, once more, suddenly doing something as he came to from his thoughts.

The towel he ran over himself distracted him from his formulating, before it hesitated upon his arm… His right arm.

His _right _arm.

"The… The dragon…" He murmured softly, dropping the towel with wide eyes as the idea struck him.

If Hiei's body were weakening so drastically and at such a quick pace, what was there anymore to prevent the dragon from breaking free of his master's feeble hold? The ryu would be extremely pleased, Kurama was sure, to break free from its existence as nothing more than a tool and weapon by Hiei and the Jagan Eye…

Kurama slowly dressed himself, all the while thinking bitterly,

"_Jagan… I guess your plan… Backfired…"_

Kurama slowly came from the bathroom, eyes half shut as he regarded Botan and Yuusuke softly talking as Kuwabara slept within his computer chair, in a pose similar to that which Yuusuke had assumed while sleeping there, earlier.

"Botan… Yuusuke…" Kurama spoke softly, as the two turned their eyes upon him.

"Yeah, Kurama?" Yuusuke asked softly, raising his brows as Botan nodded as well, urging Kurama to speak.

"Did… The energy you were feeling from Hiei… Did it feel anything similar to… The dragon..?" He slowly worded, moving over to stand next to the sleeping Kuwabara.

Botan glanced over to Yuusuke as the ebon haired male widened his eyes with shock, "T-The… Holy shit… Holy shit, Kurama!" He yelped, looking up at the redhead to see him slowly look down to the floor, eyes half shut.

"Now that I think about it… I guess that must be where the fluctuations that felt like the Jagan eye were coming from, and throwing us off… It must have been trying to keep the dragon under control…" Botan murmured, before rising to her feet and allowing the oar of her travel to materialize within her hand. Yuusuke stared at her in wonder, before she addressed his gaze.

"I'm going to go take one more scout around, and make sure to focus on the dragon's energy, as well… I guess it can't be that hard to miss, but… You know…" She murmured.

"Be safe…" Kurama murmured softly.

Yuusuke nodded, "Yeah, we'll be out there soon, too… Just call one of our communicators, if you need us…"

The azure haired female nodded slowly, before swishing out Kurama's window on the oar she was seated upon, in to the fading daylight.

Kurama slowly took a seat next to Yuusuke, rubbing his forehead as he tried to gather himself once more. It would not do to let himself fall in to a fit when so much was going on. Also, he knew that Kuwabara had been out searching for Hiei all day, and he did not want to disturb his slumber just yet. The silence that fell between Yuusuke and Kurama was a thick one, before Yuusuke softly broke through it after several minutes.

"You know… I was really worried about you…" He spoke softly, glancing over at the redhead, who allowed his gaze to slowly shift over to the ebon haired male.

Yuusuke continued after just a moment, "All you did while you were unconscious was mutter Hiei's name, and then go in to those fits you woke up in… I was worried you weren't ever gonna wake up again… It freaked me out, you know..?"

Kurama sadly downcast his gaze, biting his lower lip softly, before glancing at Yuusuke's troubled face once more, "I was… fighting with myself, Yuusuke… I was trying, desperately, to not lose myself to the trauma of my ningen mind completely…" He explained softly, hoping that Yuusuke would understand, which he seemed to.

The boy nodded, reaching out to pat Kurama's face softly with a gentle hand, "Well… I'm just happy… You're okay. More happy than you can imagine… Now… All we have to do is go and find Hiei, get him to cheer up, and then… Everything can be okay, or at least kinda okay… right?" He asked softly, removing his hand and smiling his charming Yuusuke smile at a slightly smiling Kurama.

"Yes… Hopefully, everything will work out for the best. I just hope that Hiei can… come to terms with himself. You all do know, it was not he who raped me, correct?" He asked softly, internally flinching at the word rape as it passed his lips.

"Yeah, Koenma knew about it before we did, and sent Botan to us…" Yuusuke explained, nodding his head as the other shut his eyes.

They fell silent once more, neither of them eager to break it, before a loud sound alerted both of their ears, and shocked Kuwabara out of his sleep, "Where are they!? I'll KILL THEM!?" He yelled in his half asleep state, before blinking and widening his eyes at the sight from Kurama's slightly open window.

"W-wha'..?" He asked softly, stepping forward with measured steps as Kurama neared the window and opened it completely.

The loud sound of a roaring and screeching dragon filled the air as it could be seen distantly circling above the city, body coiling around the smoke filling air as it launched torrential bursts of fire from its mouth, completely enthralled to finally have broken free from Hiei's hold.

All three of them stared in absolute horror, transfixed by the sight before them, before Kurama reacted first.

"B-Botan… Hiei!" He yelped, flying to his feet and rushing toward the door as Kuwabara and Yuusuke exchanged worried glances, before pushing themselves up and rushing after Kurama.

The redhead was far ahead of them, having already slipped his shoes on and rushed out the door, leaving it open for the other two to follow as he leapt over his gate, and ran as quickly as his tired legs would carry him, off in to town.

The air grew smoky and congested as he reached the side of town which the dragon was assaulting. Already, the ningen who were in the area had fled, or had been destroyed instantly by the incinerating power of the dragon's heat. Kurama covered his mouth and nose with one hand as he continued onward, glancing back to see if Kuwabara and Yuusuke were behind him, still, but seeing nothing but a wall of the thick smoke of debris surrounding him.

He glanced up, staring at the dark purple and black coils of the dragon celebrating within the sky. Its roar rung like laughter through the smoky clouds as it let forth yet another billow of its dark flames, enveloping some unfortunate ningen within its grasps. As their screams filled the air, Kurama trekked forward once more, trying desperately to find some trace of Hiei within the mess of the entire situation.

He was fairly certain that the dragon would catch no sight of him as he continued to prod for Hiei's energy, calling his name and casting about his own feeble and weak reiki as a sign to Hiei as he continued his search.

There was no sign of the smaller male anywhere, and Kurama could feel the smoke having its way with his body, the thick fumes becoming too much for him to handle. He felt himself sway dizzily, before he heard a voice call out to him from somewhere nearby.

"Kuramaaaaa!" Botan's voice called, though she was nowhere in sight, herself, "I found Hiei! He's off near the bridge between the cities! I couldn't get close enough to him, the flames were too intense!" She yelled, before suddenly swooping through the smoke, and off to the side as the dragon issued flames at her airborne presence, seeming to recognize who she was, and taking amusement and shooing her off like a fly on the tip of its nose.

Kurama tensed, suddenly, as the dragon's crimson gaze focused upon his terrified form, mirth seeming to ring within its eyes.

The redhead took not even a moment in turning and running for his life, off toward the bridge of which Botan spoke.

He could feel the dragon's immense presence swoop from the sky moments after he had set off, and knew that there was little he could do to escape the dragon, now that it was set upon him.

The heat began roiling off of the pavement behind Kurama's fleeing feet as the creature continued its pursuit, and Kurama could feel his legs wavering with the motion.

There was no way he could out run this dragon.

He shut his eyes tightly for a moment, feeling the burning of his legs, stomach, sides, and lungs as he continued to run through the smoky air. His feet fumbled momentarily, and as he righted himself, he could feel the heat, wind, and hear the thick, thunderous snap of the dragon's teeth closing in on the air only feet behind himself.

He knew that there was little he could do now, as he pushed his tired legs as fast as they could go, rushing and rushing toward the immense circle of flames, which he could only assume was where Hiei lay.

However, as soon as he began to build up the voice to scream Hiei's name, his legs fumbled, and he felt himself collapse to the ground as the cry, "HIEEII!" coursed from his lips.

The pavement tore harshly in to his arms and side as he slid along it, and he buried his face in to the pavement, awaiting the incineration that was sure to befall him within any millisecond.

As soon as he could realize what was going on, however, a voice called out over the roiling flames and screeching dragon.

"Stop!" It demanded, a strong and dangerous pulse of energy ripping through the air, causing the hair on the back of Kurama's neck to stand on end, and the motion of the dragon to stop right before himself. Kurama's eyes lifted themselves from the cement beneath them, and focused upon Hiei's figure far in the distance, his chest heaving as he held one arm up, snarl torn on to his lips as he stared at the dragon, whom he had just stopped with his call.

Kurama, being distracted by the elation of seeing Hiei on his feet, alive, slowly found himself conscious of the intense heat rolling along his body. Slowly, he rolled himself over on the pavement, before stopping where he moved, frozen in place in fear of the sight above him.

The dragon's flaming snout hovered only two or three feet above him, crimson eyes focused sharply in to Kurama's as a wicked smile turned the corners of the dragon's lips upward, its fangs snapping softly at the air as its breath singed Kurama's clothes and hair, burning Kurama's flesh and heating the pavement beneath him. The heat rolling off of the dragon's flaming body was so intense that Kurama could hardly keep himself cognizant of the situation at hand.

Just beyond the dragon's head, Kurama could plainly see it's body, coiling and working itself all around the air, burning away the cement and debris it touched as if they were made of nothing but dust, at all…

Kurama swallowed the hot, dry air within his throat, as he focused, once more, his emerald eyes upon those deadly eyes of the smiling murderer hovering just feet above himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Kurama unwillingly kept his gaze fixed upon the snarling and snorting dragon above himself, pants gasping from his dry and burning lips with an intensity as he tried to get himself back away from the snarling monster above him.

Each and every time he tried to move away from the beast, however, he was called still by a screeching growl from the creature suspended in the air above him, and the heat intensified almost ten fold. Kurama knew that he had to move, and soon– The pavement was baking his hands, and the acrid scent of his clothes being slowly burnt away by the intense heat was beginning to thicken the air around him. His hair was heavy and hot, cheeks and lips burning and scalding horribly.

The dragon did not seem to be going anywhere, though, much to Kurama's dismay. He dared, for a moment, to take his eyes away from the dragon, and to glance over at his friend.

Hiei stood with a look of immense concentration etched on to his face, hand quivering as he maintained the dark energy pulsing around them. The strain was beginning to show in Hiei's form, as the smaller demon was continually shaking more and more with each passing second, his energy simply a thin strand that was somehow holding back a horrible beast... but only just.

Kurama's attention was jerked back to the dragon above himself by a horrifying and loud snap of the creature's fangs, and as he locked gazes with the monster above himself, the beast seemed to reach the end of its patience.

With another snarl and snap of its massive jaws, it lurched itself forward in the air, closing the gap between itself and Kurama even further. The redhead shrunk himself down into the searing pavement, trying his hardest to muster up enough Reiki to use one of his weapons, not to attack the creature, but to perhaps get himself away from the certain death its touch would deal to him.

Tightly, he closed his eyes and shirked back away from the monster further. He could summon nothing. His body was too weak, too malnourished, and too torn apart mentally to sufficiently pull the energy from his core. He shook his head, feeling the hot pavement burn into his flesh, and the blood begin dribbling from his broken skin. The scent of the blood slowly began to cake the acrid air, and the dragon took several long whiffs of the air, before launching itself in to a frenzy. Kurama cried out as the heat flew to a suddenly searing level, and the beast tore through Hiei's hold, and hurtled itself forward through the space between them.

Just as the dragon was about to scoop Kurama in to its massive jaws, a loud sound exploded from the somewhere else in the area, and the side of the beast's head was slammed with a huge, bright blue blast of energy.The cry of Yuusuke's attack was lost in the dragon's angry and horrifying screeching, its body twisting up into the air as its paws tore at its own face, trying to get the pure energy away from its dark flames. Kurama's wide eyes regarded the scene, before he was suddenly scooped off of the ground, and rushed to the side and away from the dragon's presence.

Glancing up, Kurama could see Kuwabara's concentrated face as he rushed his way over to the alley in which Yuusuke was hiding, hand still on the bottom of his arm from where he had let loose his Reigun on the beast.

"Here ya go..." Kuwabara muttered as he set Kurama on his feet.

Yuusuke turned his gaze to Kurama with a sigh as the redhead accustomed himself to being on his feet once more, eyes screwed in slight concentration for a moment before he turned his eyes back up toward the dragon, which was circling the air in a rage, and then over to Hiei, who was still standing there, just staring up at the beast which was now completely out of his control once more.

"That's not gonna do us much good, is it..?" Yuusuke asked slowly, shutting his eyes and rubbing his forehead as he leaned against the wall.

"No..." Kurama spoke softly, flexing his hands slightly and wincing at the blistering flesh being disturbed.

"Here, lemme take care of that..." Kuwabara muttered, grabbing Kurama's hand and wrapping it as best he could, "Botan left us some cleaning supplies and stuff."

"Where is Botan..?" Asked Kurama softly, looking to the orange haired male with a worried gaze.

"She went to go and speak with Koenma about finding some way to stop this dragon without Hiei, 'cause he's obviously not gonna be a lot of help..." He said, shaking his head.

Kurama pursed his lips, and looked over to Yuusuke, "Someone needs to go and get him... That dragon could circle back around at any moment... We can't let Hiei get killed..."

The boy nodded slowly, "I'll go grab him..." He said softly, glancing up at the dragon tersely for a moment, before launching himself off and toward the frozen Hiei as quickly as he could move.

Hiei's eyes did not stray from their position upon the circling dragon as Yuusuke hauled him up. Kurama strained his eyes to continue watching, and could see Hiei's lips mouth something illegible as Yuusuke brought him back to their hiding place, panting, and sitting the male down against the wall. Yuusuke broke in to a bought of coughing as Kurama slowly moved toward Hiei, eyes half shut.

The smaller demon slowly brought his gaze up to meet Kurama's face, and the they instantly returned to the ground in an ashamed manner.

The kitsune shook his head, kneeling down in front of him and touching his face very softly with bandaged hands. The pain of everything was not nearly as strong anymore, and Kurama's mind felt more clear than it had since the Jagan had forced Hiei to rape him. The other's warm flesh against his burnt fingertips was not uncomfortable– it was soothing. The feeling of the other's Youki coagulating around Kurama's fingers was a comforting thing, and the redhead slowly smiled with his burnt lips, and shook his head.

"Hiei... Please, look at me..?" He asked softly.

"I can't," was Hiei's short and abrupt response, his head pulling away from Kurama's hand, eyes narrowing off at something further down the alley.

Hiei had obviously beaten himself up over this more than Kurama had originally thought as he let his gaze rove over the other's body. He was much thinner than normal, his skin much more pallid and pasty. He obviously had not been feeding himself enough, and he had not been getting enough sunlight, either. The other was ashamed and guilt ridden, and obviously did not think he deserved any sort of forgiveness from Kurama.

Kurama shook his head softly, and leaned forward toward the other male, letting his lips softly touch the other's ear. Hiei jumped slightly at the unusual contact, but was brought still by Kurama's soft and soothing voice.

"Hiei... Please... I forgive you... None of this is your fault, you know? I'm alive. I'm alright. You're here. I'm _forgiving _you... Can't you find it within you to... forgive yourself..? I–" He was interrupted by Hiei pulling away from him, and trying to get to his feet. He was stopped by Kurama's hand gently upon his arm.

"Kurama!" He snapped softly, looking away with a soft snarl on his face, "I can't _DO_ this. I can't even look at your face anymore... How the hell can you forgive me for letting that happen to you!?" He snapped, looking roughly at Kurama, before falling still at the other's gaze locking with his own, and not letting it go.

"Because I need you, Hiei..." He stated in a soft and firm voice, eyes half shutting as he used the hand on Hiei's arm to pull him closer. The koorime shook his head slowly, moving to try and get away, before he was pulled completely to Kurama, the redhead's arms wrapping softly around Hiei's back to keep him in place within the embrace.

"I need you more than I've ever needed anyone... Especially now, Hiei..? Can't you understand..? I don't hold this against you... I could never hold it against you... You _didn't _do anything! The jagan is the only antagonist in this situation, and I know you would have never let it do that to me, if you could have stopped it..." He murmured gently.

Hiei remained awkwardly in his arms, unused to such close contact. He kept his gaze focused elsewhere, and spoke softly, "That's just the problem, fox... I wasn't– strong enough to see what it was doing to me... I wasn't strong enough to stop the goddamn thing before it could hurt you..."

Kurama shook his head softly, "I don't hold it against you... But there's nothing I can do for you... Until you forgive yourself... And I get this distinct feeling that that dragon won't give you much time to think..."

Hiei turned his gaze upward to Kurama, watching him silently for a moment. The other was keeping himself cooly controlled, though the redhead could tell he was in intense thought and conflict with himself.

"U-UH! GUYS! I hate to ruin your sweet moment, but WE GOTTA MOVE!" Yuusuke suddenly yelled, looking at them in a panicked manner as Kuwabara stepped away from the entrance of the alley with wide eyes.

Hiei swallowed quickly, jerking himself to his feet and pulling Kurama up after him, and nodding to Yuusuke.

Kurama glanced toward the entrance as they all began their hasty retreat further into the alley, and watched the powerful form of the dragon lunging itself toward the entryway they had hidden themselves within, crimson eyes burning with an intense and deadly anger. Kurama turned his gaze abruptly away, Hiei's arm strongly around his back to keep him steady and running with his weak and injured legs.

Quickly after they took off, the loud sound of the destruction of the alley walls rumbled through the air after them. Kurama could hear the bricks being burned away instantly with crumbling sounds as the dragon tore through the narrow passage after them.

They did not waste any time with their movements. Pacing was not an option, and when they ran out of energy, they ran out of energy, and then death would certainly befall.

The situation seemed hopeless.

Hiei snarled softly to himself while continuing to sprint along, moving them more quickly at random intervals, those speeds being so fast that the surroundings were nothing but a blur.

"We can't keep running..." Kurama murmured softly. He was no stranger to pushing his body far beyond its maximum capability, but the pace at which they were running had already taken its toll, and there was no way that Kurama could keep it up much longer. Each move of his legs sent a biting pain up his torso. His stomach ached and burned more than it ever had after running for a long time, and his breath was searing his already burnt throat as he tried to keep breath pumping in to his aching lungs.

"I know... But there's nothing I can do. The jagan won't help me, and I can't keep the damn thing in control without it..." He said softly, only loud enough for Kurama to hear.

Before the redhead could speak once more Hiei, as if sensing Kurama's weakness, scooped the male in to his arms and picked up his own pace once more.

"H-Hiei... You're weak, too!" Kurama gasped softly, struggling very lightly in a mild protest.

"I'm fine. You wouldn't have made it much further..." He spat softly, snorting and shiffing them up ahead of Yuusuke and Kuwabara.

They were now out in the rubble of that section of the city, running as quickly as they could through the remains of half fallen buildings, and roads with large chunks missing due to the dragon's body coming in to contact with them.

Kurama's ears were met with yet another horrifying roar from the dragon, and he glanced back, seeing that Yuusuke had used another Reigun attack upon the dragon. This one had obviously slammed it straight in the snout, and it reared up with a horrifying screech, claws digging at its own nose as black droplets seared forward from the flames, and hissed onto the pavement below.

"We can't keep this up!" Yuusuke yelled, shaking his head and catching up with Kuwabara, who had began running once more after Yuusuke had made his shot.

Hiei flinched his eyes shut, baring his small fangs in frustration at the events befalling.

"My weakness is going to cause the death of everyone!" He snapped harshly, obviously more at himself than at Kurama.

Kurama shut his eyes tightly, and buried his face against Hiei's chest, one bandaged hand clinging to the front of the remains of Hiei's shirt.

"None of us blame you... And I'm just glad... You're here." He murmured softly into the other's flesh, before falling silent and just listening to the slightly heavy breathing of the others, the pounding of their feet, and the snarling of the beast above them.

"Here it comes again!" Yuusuke's voice called, before a loud cry broke through the air from the hanyou.

Kurama's eyes snapped open, and Hiei abruptly stopped, whipping himself back around and staring at Yuusuke, who had crumpled to the ground after being stabbed deeply in the chest by the dragon's long talons.

The three standing froze at the sight, and the dragon coiled within the air, screeching out its victory over the fallen member of their group.

"Y-Yuusuke!" Kurama cried, and Kuwabara ran abruptly forward, before being forced to back away by an angry sweep of the dragon's tail.

Hiei stared with deadly eyes up at his former weapon, sitting Kurama softly on the ground by Kuwabara.

"Watch out for him..." Hiei muttered softly, before disappearing in a whizz of black.

Kuwabara sank down to his knees, rubbing his forehead and looking over to the redhead, who lowered his gaze to the ground. The two of them sat in silence for a moment before Kurama looked forward once again, watching the scene take place before him.

Hiei's figure could be seen moving this way and that way, just a flicker of the form of his body before it vanished once more. The dragon watched all of his movements with a keen crimson eye, smirk pressed into the flames of its mouth, as it was very confident of its power over Hiei. The koorime did not cease, however, and was inching himself closer and closer to their fallen comrade. He was but a few feet away when a sudden movement by the dragon pushed him almost back to where he started.

The dragon seemed intend upon Yuusuke dying, and there seemed nothing they could do.

The beast had lowered itself closer to the ground, immense body coiling this way and that, like a snake with its head lowered. Within the center of the coil was, of course, Yuusuke... or Yuusuke's body...

Kurama shuddered at the thought, and pushed his weak and exhausted legs to get himself to his feet. He watched tensely, inwardly trying to think of something which he could do to help the other... To help Yuusuke...

Suddenly, the sound of a swish brought Kuwabara and Kurama's attention to directly behind themselves. Botan had just swept herself off of her oar, holding in her hands a small vial.

"I think I have the solution we need." She stated cheerfully, holding out the crystal vial with a smile. The smile faltered after a moment of regarding the other's serious and worried expressions.

"What is that thing?" Kuwabara asked, taking the vial and examining it, as Kurama glanced back to watch Hiei continuing to weave back and forth, the dragon's head seamlessly wafting back and forth with him, grace matched point to point.

"This is a vial of the strongest holy water the spirit world has. There's a chance that if we can get the dragon to swallow it, he'll revert back in to his true form."

"His... true form?" Kurama questioned softly, raising a slender brow at the comment.

Botan elaborated promptly, "A dragon naturally has two forms. There is the pure form, which is the beast you see now, and then there is the true form... That is to say, the form he maintains out of sight, or when he sleeps. He'll be much easier to deal with like that, though this will probably hurt him a great deal, anyway..."

Kuwabara frowned back at the great beast, and then to Botan once more, "But... Wouldn't it just incinerate as soon as it gets near him?" He asked wearily.

Botan smiled very weakly, "Well... The inside of his body won't be as hot as the outside... Logically, he has to eat, and there's no way that he can eat if all of his food is disintegrated beforeit enters his body."

Kurama knit his brows, and then nodded in understanding, "Meaning... One of us has got to get close enough to get that vial into the dragon's mouth..."

"That's about it." Botan said with a grim nod of her head.

"I'll do it..." Kurama stated softly, taking the vial from Kuwabara and glancing toward the scene.

"Are you crazy!?" Kuwabara exclaimed, grabbing Kurama's shoulder and shaking him slightly, "There's no way you could survive that!"

"Oh, there is a chance... But that chance is slim..." He turned his emerald gaze to Kuwabara, "Think about it... I'm too weak to do anything, or to be of any help to us. You've got all of your Reiki, and you're not hurt. Hiei has the potential, I'm sure, to find a way to call the dragon to order, and Botan... Well, no one can afford to lose the guardian of the River Styx, now can they..?" He spoke softly, and quickly, feeling the smooth crystal with his fingertips.

Botan moved forward slowly, pressing her hands in to Kurama's chest. The redhead winced, but then realized what she was doing, and closed his eyes.

"This won't heal you very much, since you have demon in you... But my white magic should be able to at least heal some of your surface wounds..." She spoke softly, the magic pouring from her fingertips, and soothing the burns and tears upon his body. His fatigue slowly began to subside, and his muscles tensed once more, the pain passing from them as well. The azure haired woman backed away after a moment, "That's all I can do..." she said softly, "please... be careful..." She said gently.

Kurama nodded his head, and turned toward the dragon and Hiei once more.

Kuwabara patted Kurama on the back softly, "You've got this... I know it." He said, before nodding himself and looking back toward the dragon's great form.

Kurama did not waste another moment. As quickly as he could, he dashed forward, using the pointed crystal stopper in the vial to cut a nice wound onto the palm of his hand. The blood spattered forward, and almost immediately, the dragon's gaze whipped from Hiei to the running Kurama, it's mouth opening and then snapping softly shut.

As if stricken by a sudden frenzy, the beast launched itself away from Hiei and Yuusuke, and off toward Kurama. The redhead kept his gaze squarely forward, closing his bloody hand around the crystal vial tightly, to keep it from slipping from his fingers. He could feel the familiar heat rushing after him, and a curse and yell from Hiei, though he could not discern anything further than the loud, "DAMMIT!" coming through the rushing winds of the dragon.

After running for about a minute, Kurama suddenly whipped himself around. The dragon was no more than a couple of yards behind him, and the heat was growing steadily and steadily more intense. The redhead flung forward the arm which held the vial, and watched the blood pour onto the pavement below from the deep cut.

That was all the dragon needed. Its senses seemed to be numbed by the intense want for food. It rushed forward evermore quickly, closing in the feet more and more with each passing second.

The dragon was only a yard away, and Kurama cried out from the heat and pain coursing over his body... As soon as the dragon opened its mouth for a snap, the redhead flung the crystal bottle forward.

He prayed his aim had been true, for his eyes closed directly after that, and he was flung backward by a horrible rush of energy and sound from the beast.

Immediately after he hit the ground, hands found his face, and then moved to sit him up. There was a horrible sound coming from feet away, as if the dragon were being ripped apart.

Kurama did not open his eyes, and merely contented himself to rest his face against Hiei's stomach, for he knew from the scent that it was Hiei who held him.

Moment by moment of the horrifying sound followed, before the screeching seemed to fade into a more vocal tone. The roaring and lashing of the dragon fell into screams, and the sound of something thrashing about upon the ground.

Kurama opened his eyes, and then widened them at the sight before himself.

There, curled up upon the ground was a man. He thrashed and moaned, the thick and scaley wings upon his back shuddering and lashing out at all of the air around himself. Pools of black hair scattered upon the ground around him, his thick tail slamming harshly into the pavement as he drove his fingers more tightly into his scalp, long and slender ears pinned back as his head shook, body struggling to get up but merely falling back to the ground with a sick and dull thud.

Silence came from the man before them for a moment, before a weak panting took over the still air.

"Is this... The dragon's true form..?" Kurama asked slowly and softly.

"Yes." Was Hiei's simple and short reply.

They fell silent for a moment, simply watching the male who twitched weakly upon the ground before them, face buried into the pavement as he whimpered softly, trying to fight the pain within himself.

He continued to claw at his scalp, droplets of black blood coursing down his fingertips as he coughed and sputtered at the obvious pain he was in.

As Kurama watched, he could not help but be stricken slightly with pity– but only slightly. That was merely the ningen compassion shining through his calm disposition.

Kuwabara slowly approached, and when Kurama glanced a questioning glance at him, he spoke.

"Botan took Yuusuke to the Reikai to see what they could do for him... He was still alive, but barely. She says she thinks that he can be helped... He's lived through a lot worse than that..." He then turned his attention down to the squirming dragon. "Is THAT his true form? We could just kill him now."

Kurama shook his head, "No, we can't kill him... We have to try to find a way to get him back inside Hiei... Right?" The redhead glanced at Hiei, who still had not taken his gaze away from the squirming Ryu.

"I'll get him back." Hiei narrowed his eyes slightly, and snarled darkly at the fallen dragon.

Kurama smiled weakly, looking to the now still male before them, and frowning slightly, "Now... What are we going to do with him in the meantime..?" He asked softly.

Hiei pursed his lips, and glanced over to Kurama for the first time since the dragon had fallen, "I have no idea..."

"You... You god damned bastards..." Came a hoarse and rough voice, and all of them turned their attention to the dragon, who had pushed himself up slightly, crimson eyes widened and staring daggers at Kurama, "I'll rip you... to pieces..." He hissed, spitting black blood roughly upon the ground, before convulsing and sinking down once more, giving a horrifying growl of pain as he curled up.

Obviously, he'd be ripping no one to pieces today.

Kurama sighed, leaning against Hiei and shutting his eyes, relaxing for the first time since he had woken up. Though he was not completely relieved of his worries, he was at least happy to have Hiei back with him, and that was enough for him.

A sudden hiss brought him back to his senses, and Hiei's arms protectively wrapped around Kurama as the koorime pulled Kurama slowly back away from the dark flames rolling across the pavement from the fallen body of the dragon. Kuwabara widened his eyes, backing away as well from the dangerous trails of fire that seemed to be encircling him..

"W-What is he... doing..?" Kurama asked in wonder, before watching with stunned eyes as the dragon slowly pulled himself to his feet, almost as though a puppeteer were controlling him, and he was nothing more than a marionette on the strings. His eyes glowed with a fiercely brilliant red as his slender and pale face became engulfed with shadows. His eyes were locked, deeply locked, within Kurama's wide emerald orbs.

"Are you... scared..?" Hissed the ryu in a dark and low voice, chuckle breaking forth from his slightly parted lips as he lifted his head, long strands of the black tresses falling silkily into his eyes. Kurama drew back slightly within Hiei's arms, and the koorime hissed violently at the dragon.

"You stay the hell away from him..." Hiei spat, receiving a dark laugh from the dragon as he stepped forward out of the flames.

"He shouldn't have messed with me, Hiei... And... Who are _you_ to tell me what to do..? You. Have. No. Say. In. My. Life. Now..." With that, another low chuckle broke forth from his pallid lips.

Kuwabara slowly moved to stand in front of Kurama and Hiei as well, drawing forth his Reiken from his energy reserves, "You want them you gotta go through me." He stated in a daring tone.

The laugh that broke forth from the dragon's throat rang through the town in a deeply echoing fashion.

"YOU think YOU can do ANYTHING against ME!?" He laughed, throwing his head back as Kuwabara gave a growl.

"OH... That's FUNNY!" He laughed for a moment more, before suddenly whipping his head forward and throwing his hand out, flames roughly catching Kuwabara in the chest. He then whipped his hand to the side, and the flames threw him roughly out of the way, and slamming him into another building.

"No, Kuwabara!" Kurama cried out, before jerking his attention forward once more as the dragon lunged forward without warning at the two. Hiei defensively moved to protect Kurama, and to try and run away, but before he could get anywhere, the dragon's powerful hands had pried Hiei off and thrown him just as roughly to the side as he had Kuwabara.

Kurama stumbled back, staring over at where Hiei had flown with horrified eyes. He then looked at the dragon, who smiled a wicked smile and stared down at him. Kurama backed away, shaking his head slowly, before turning and dashing off. He knew it was cowardly to retreat, but there was nothing that he could do to defend himself.

As soon as he had gotten a couple of steps away, he was grabbed harshly by the dragon's strong arms, and the sound of his wings pumping thickly filled the air as they both shot off of the ground, a wicked laugh slipping through the fanged beast's lips.


End file.
